Dara Palmer's Major Drama
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- $10.99
Publisher Description
"Dara's larger-than-life personality and true-to-life middle grade issues command center stage until the curtain falls."—School Library Journal, STARRED Review
Dara Palmer is destined to be a star, and she's writing herself the role of a lifetime. In this book, Emma Shevah tells a heartwarming story of one girl's experience with transracial adoption and the drama of middle school.
Dara longs for stardom—but when she isn't cast in her middle school's production of The Sound of Music, she gets suspicious. It can't be because she's not the best. She was born to be a famous movie star. It must be because she's adopted from Cambodia and doesn't look like a typical fraulein. (That's German for girl.)
So irrepressible Dara comes up with a genius plan to shake up the school: write a play about her own life. Then she'll have to be the star.
Age Level: 8 and up | Grade Level: 3 to 7
Great for parents and educators looking for:
•A story told with doodles and illustrations, perfect for readers that love graphic novels and reluctant readers
•A great conversation starter for parents to talk to their kids about being unique and growing up with differences from their fellow classmates or community
•A story about a girl who takes the initiative and isn't afraid to forge her own path.
•Books for kids about transracial adoption
Praise for Emma Shevah's Dream On, Amber:
A Booklist 2015 Top 10 First Novels for Youth
A Kirkus Reviews Best Books of 2015
"[This] novel is a charmer...While its humor and illustrations lend it Wimpy Kid appeal, its emotional depth makes it stand out from the pack."—Booklist STARRED review
"A gutsy girl in a laugh-out-loud book that navigates tough issues with finesse."—Kirkus STARRED review
"Amber's effervescent and opinionated narration captivates from the start."—Publishers Weekly STARRED review
"By turns playful and poignant, in both style and substance, this coming-of-age novel will hook readers from the first page to the last."—School Library Journal STARRED review
PUBLISHERS WEEKLY
Hollywood-obsessed Dara Palmer wants to be an actor, but she doesn't look like any of the "honey vanilla waffles" that she idolizes. Ethnically Cambodian, this chatty British fifth-grader begins to wonder whether she isn't getting acting parts because of her looks because it surely couldn't be for lack of talent, could it? As Dara, which means star in Khmer, tries to move past losing the starring role in the big school production, she also begins to sort out the fact that her "outsidey bit" doesn't match her mental image of a movie star. As quirky Dara, lover of teaspoons and hater of noodles, struggles with her identity as an adoptee and her rocky relationship with her younger sister (also adopted, but white), she finds the help of a teacher she didn't think she needed. And as Dara's acting skills grow, so do her understanding of herself and her empathy for those around her. Like Shevah's Dream On, Amber, this entertaining insight into the mind of an adopted child, snappily narrated and exuberantly illustrated, is sure to win readers over, one teaspoonful at a time. Ages 8 12.
